Spring's Cherry Blossom
by ayaminoharu
Summary: They say that behind the success of every man is a woman. Is this really true? A country's young emperor puts this phrase to a test. His elders finally decided that he's going to have his wife. Could this big step lead to a better change or for the worse?
1. Preview

_She never thought this would be her destiny, and to him, it is a start of something interesting._

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**Spring's Cherry Blossom**

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**First Chapter:** _Me wa kokoro no kagami_

(The eyes are the mirror to the soul)

[Preview

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"His royal highness, Emperor Uchiha Sasuke!"

A young man dressed in expensive robes came out in front of many aristocrats and noblemen. Today was the public announcement the whole country was waiting for. Behind him on the platform, 3 dignified men of the royal court stood to back him up. Since this once-prince-now-emperor Sasuke was a mere child, they are the ones who enlightened him till they decided it's finally the right time to make him Emperor.

His onyx eyes never showed any emotion but boredom. He grew up without his family. Thirteen years ago, his elder brother Itachi, the supposed Emperor was banished from their country for he aimlessly killed everyone in his clan. However, Sasuke, the only person who believes that his brother had a specific reason, was not yet considered during those times.

The three Sages, as they were called, are his guardians. The first one is Jiraiya, a known warrior from long ago and now a famous author of a series of novels. The second one is Tsunade, the only woman in the group. She was once a member of a great group of assassins who served the previous emperor. And finally, Orochimaru, a sly yet powerful sage who still, up to now, has a dark and mysterious character unknown to everyone outside the royal court.

"I'm not sure about this, Jiraiya. This announcement will shock the entire nation. I don't think Sasuke-dono's ready for this kind of thing!" Tsunade said. "Make him stop now."

"Relax," Jiraiya replied. "I know how you feel, that your baby boy Sasuke is now getting a wife means you'll be a granny soon! He's old enough to involve in, you know, that thing…"

She glared at him. "If this works, I'll definitely laud you. But beware if this dreary thing won't work."

"I'm pretty sure that the woman I picked for him will be the one on the throne next to him."

"What a confidence, Jiraiya!" she glanced at Orochimaru. "Hey, Oro, what do you think is proper?"

"Sasuke-dono must now have his wife. And if possible, an Empress for our nation." He answered.

Tsunade sighed. "Yeah right, you guys team off against me…"

Emperor Sasuke can hear the elders' conversation, and it kind of irked him. _What are those old guys thinking? That I'm so capable? Geez, I never ever even touched a woman's hair before!_ He tried his best to compose himself.

The worst part is, an Emperor can never get back the words he's said.

_I'm so dead now. Soon, this country will be at chaos… just like before…_

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭


	2. First Chapter: 目は心の鏡

_She never thought this would be her destiny, and to him, it is a start of something interesting._

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**Spring's Cherry Blossom**

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**First Chapter:** _Me wa kokoro no kagami_

(The eyes are the mirror to the soul)

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"His royal highness, Emperor Uchiha Sasuke!"

A young man dressed in expensive robes came out in front of many aristocrats and noblemen. Today was the public announcement the whole country was waiting for. Behind him on the platform, 3 dignified men of the royal court stood to back him up. Since this once-prince-now-emperor Sasuke was a mere child, they are the ones who enlightened him till they decided it's finally the right time to make him Emperor.

His onyx eyes never showed any emotion but boredom. He grew up without his family. Thirteen years ago, his elder brother Itachi, the supposed Emperor was banished from their country for he aimlessly killed everyone in his clan. However, Sasuke, the only person who believes that his brother had a specific reason, was not yet considered during those times.

The three Sages, as they were called, are his guardians. The first one is Jiraiya, a known warrior from long ago and now a famous author of a series of novels. The second one is Tsunade, the only woman in the group. She was once a member of a great group of assassins who served the previous emperor. And finally, Orochimaru, a sly yet powerful sage who still, up to now, has a dark and mysterious character unknown to everyone outside the royal court.

"I'm not sure about this, Jiraiya. This announcement will shock the entire nation. I don't think Sasuke-dono's ready for this kind of thing!" Tsunade said. "Make him stop now."

"Relax," Jiraiya replied. "I know how you feel, that your baby boy Sasuke is now getting a wife means you'll be a granny soon! He's old enough to involve in, you know, that thing…"

She glared at him. "If this works, I'll definitely laud you. But beware if this dreary thing won't work."

"I'm pretty sure that the woman I picked for him will be the one on the throne next to him."

"What a confidence, Jiraiya!" she glanced at Orochimaru. "Hey, Oro, what do you think is proper?"

"Sasuke-dono must now have his wife. And if possible, an Empress for our nation." He answered.

Tsunade sighed. "Yeah right, you guys team off against me…"

Emperor Sasuke can hear the elders' conversation, and it kind of irked him. _What are those old guys thinking? That I'm so capable? Geez, I never ever even touched a woman's hair before!_ He tried his best to compose himself.

The worst part is, an Emperor can never get back the words he's said.

_I'm so dead now. Soon, this country will be at chaos… just like before…_

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"What happened to that old castle, Sakura-sensei?"

"From what I've heard, it's still secluded deep within the forest. The souls of the 7 flame dragons remained there after the fierce battle with the dark flame."

A young woman patiently answered the different questions the children threw her. Her job at a local temple sure is hard work, for she had to deal with playful and sometimes, mischievous children. But for the need of money, she simply enjoys this kind of work.

She's Haruno Sakura, the only daughter of the late head of the Haruno clan. Young as she is, she learned how to earn a living. She'd been an orphan in the age of 3. Currently, she lives in their rundown estate, living with his relative Hatake Kakashi. This man had been the one to take care of her since his father's death. She was never told of the reason why her parents were assassinated.

Hatake Kakashi works at the royal court as the archives director. Usually, he hangs out anywhere and is fine with just reading a book. The other resident of the Haruno estate is a man named Akatsuki Itachi, a vagabond who was found by Kakashi thirteen years ago in front of their home. Since then, he resided with them and did what he can do in order to help sustain their little home. He currently works sideline as an honorary guard, but usually, he's found following Sakura around and making other people think he's her boyfriend.

"See you tomorrow, sensei!" the children bid farewell.

Itachi came out from where he's hiding. "So you've come to walk me home again, Itachi?" Sakura said. "Maybe next time you can come in the temple."

"My Lady, I'm just fine outside the temple. I came here to tell you some news I've heard from Lord Kakashi." He replied.

Sakura thought for a while. "What is it? Will he make me stop working again? How can we have a meal three times a day then? It's just awful… and the walls of our house, it needs repair!"

"Calm down, Lady Sakura. He said it's just urgent that we go to the palace." He said. "a chariot will bring us there in a while."

"I wonder what's wrong now…" Sakura muttered. "Did Kakashi-sama have a new job for me?"

Itachi shook his head. "I don't know either," he answered. "Soon, we will."

A chariot stopped in front of them.

"Haruno-ojousama and Akatsuki-san?"

"Yes!"

And the two of them got inside the royal chariot. The road to the palace seems so long, however, before Sakura knew it, she was already inside its compound.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

Sasuke began his speech. "I, your emperor, have something to announce this very day…"

"… the years of turmoil and darkness in our country finally came to an end. Thus, this tells us that the start of a new dynasty must be done immediately."

"… and with that, the Sages had suggested that soon enough, an heir to the throne must be born. For me to be successful in governing us all, I will be having a wife, on this occasion."

Murmurs spread around the main hall of the palace.

"They say that behind the success of every man is a woman. I shall put this into test." He continued. "I hope, you, my fellow citizens will support me in every decision I make. In return, I shall promise you fruitful years during the year of my reign, and if possible in the dynasties to come."

The women in the hall were so excited. They thought that those who were invited to come to this occasion will be the ones worthy to be selected as the first wife or consort to the emperor.

"However, the woman who will be my wife is not yet known by me. I'll let the Sages tell you about it." He took a glance on the three, who just nodded.

Jiraiya took his place on the platform. "I'm sure all ladies there are hoping that they'll be the one, right?" he casually announced. Then he chucked. After a while, seeing that everyone is so eager about it, he stopped.

"The wife of the emperor must be carefully selected in a cautious manner." He said. "And I was the one who picked on what clan will be the best family where the chosen woman would come from."

The crowd exchanged words again. "Oh,"

"So I've decided to have a woman coming from one of the most powerful clans in our country. She's the direct descendant of that clan."

_Who is she then? Come on! Stop the cliff hanger, old man._ Sasuke thought.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"Have you ever been here, Itachi?"

"Yes, about a lot of times."

"Really? Your job as an honorary guard sure brings you to other places an ordinary citizen can't reach…"

"I guess so."

A man welcomed them. "Lady Haruno and Sir Akatsuki, you are summoned to the main hall."

They followed him to the main hall, and Kakashi, upon seeing them waved his hands. The two of them instinctively followed his direction.

"Kakashi-sama! What is going on here? Why are we with these sorts of people?" Sakura immediately asked.

"We were invited to hear the Sages' announcement today, my dear." He answered. "Just wait and see…"

Sakura was puzzled by his words. _Why us, of all people? We definitely do not belong here…_ she looked at the platform, and on the left side sat such a handsome man she's never laid eyes on before.

"Who is he, Itachi?" she suddenly asked.

"He's the reigning emperor for about 4 months now, Lady Sakura. His name is Uchiha Sasuke." He answered.

"Uchiha… Sasuke?"

She gazed at him for a while and saw the look in his eyes. He has this bored, unusual look, but then, if you look at it deeply it shows something else.

"I can see that he's surely a kind person even with that exterior," she murmured.

"What is it?" Itachi asked.

"Oh, nothing at all!" she said. _The eyes are the mirror to the soul. His eyes show his inner beauty, and not his boredom. I wonder if somebody has noticed this already._

All eyes were focused on Jiraiya. "His Highness' wife is now here with us."

Everyone looked around them, trying to find a noblewoman that stands out the rest of the women. "She's finally arrived."

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭


	3. Second Chapter: 嘘のような誠

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**Spring's Cherry Blossom**

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**Second Chapter:** _Uso no you na makoto_

(Truth is stranger than fiction)

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"She's finally arrived."

Sakura noticed the people's arising anticipation of something. She's so confused on what's going on around her. This sudden visit to the palace gives her Goosebumps, and his guardian Kakashi hasn't mentioned anything yet. Still, she remained in her calm demeanour. Itachi does the same. It was quite odd that Kakashi doesn't seem to worry about anything, for he usually has a high level of anxiety over things.

"Kakashi-sama, what is this announcement all about?" Sakura finally asked.

He looked at her and grinned. "It's about His Majesty's wife."

Itachi suddenly was shocked at what he heard. "Come again? A wife?"

"Oh my, this sure is big news…" Sakura replied.

Kakashi nodded. "Jiraiya-sama is going to tell everyone who the lucky woman is. Right now."

"Isn't he too young to have his first wife?" Sakura reacted, studying the young Emperor's looks. "I guess he's just about my age!"

Itachi agreed. "She's right."

"We don't know why he agreed on the Sages' suggestion that easy," Kakashi said. "Oh well, you won't believe who the wife is."

"You know something, right, Kakashi-sama?" Itachi asked.

He simply smiled. "Yes, being a member of the royal court and working at its premises, I sure know what's going on here. And I personally know his wife,"

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

Sasuke sighed at the sight of Jiraiya making some sort of suspense. _This is taking too much of my time. What if he just spit it out?_ He cannot avoid fidgeting. With all that mumbo jumbo Jiraiya was doing for him, nothing seems interesting at all.

"Well, it's time for everyone to know her. She came from the Haruno clan."

_Haruno eh?_ Sasuke thought. _Whatever…_

"Maybe she's a relative of mine!" Sakura whispered to Itachi, getting more excited. "Oh my!"

Itachi nodded. Then he glanced at Kakashi. He's acting peculiarly.

Kakashi heard her. He simply chuckled. "Oh my, poor Sakura-chan…"

"And her name is Lady Haruno Sakura. Haruno-ojousama, I mean, Consort Haruno, please come up the stage."

Sakura was surprised. "Kakashi-sama, we have the same name! Does that run on our clan? You know, naming two daughters with the same name…" she asked.

Kakashi was sweat-dropped. "Oh my, baka no Sakura-chan… It's not a coincidence of the same name or clan-naming error. It _is_ YOU!"

Itachi and Sakura's eyes bulged out. Their jaws dropped, and they froze. After a while…

"EH?" the both of them exclaimed, loud enough for the whole congregation to hear. They've created a fuss. Kakashi just grinned.

"Now my dear Consort Haruno, won't you mind if I lead you to the stage?" Kakashi asked her.

Sakura still can't believe what he's saying. _ME? Why me? Of all daughters of our clan…_ She took a quick glance on where the Emperor's sitting. It was such a sudden announcement. On the 19 years of her existence, she never thought she'd belong to a powerful clan. She's been an orphan, unaware of these things. Her guardian didn't bother to tell her about it. And now she's being taken to be a part of the royal court!

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"Look at that, Shika. She's the one, eh?"

"Don't call me Shika, General Kankuro! You are so dead once I hear you say that again!" Nara Shikamaru warned him, now getting angry. "Is this what the Sages say the solution to our slacker Emperor's actions?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Shikamaru sighed. "Are they sure? Women are nothing but a pain on the neck! And they care less for the society."

"Here you go again with your chauvinist thoughts." Kankuro began, smirking at him. "You know, not everyone is like your fine lady Yamanaka, eh?"

"I thought she said that she'll be His Highness' wife. Yet I don't think she can seduce him or something. He's so in to nothing; I wonder what kind of relationship he'll have with his first wife."

Kankuro nodded. "I agree. Well, Lady Yamanaka can always be the second wife."

"If the case is Emperor Uchiha would want another. Women are so annoying. He can't stand it, I'm sure. Especially the kind of man he is."

"Let's see then. Do you want to wager? I think this woman will not be his last wife and His Majesty will take more concubines."

"Nah, you've got to be kidding me."

Kankuro chuckled. "Whatever you think, my dearest friend."

Shikamaru glared at him. "I am not your friend."

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"Do I really have to?" Sakura asked Kakashi for the 5th time before she goes up the stage. His guardian briskly nodded. She simply sighed.

_Oh what luck I have… it's so strange. Truth is stranger than fiction. What am I supposed to do?_

"Would you care to say a few words, Consort Haruno?" Jiraiya asked.

She tried her best to be calm. But then, no other words can come out of her mouth at that time. The old man Jiraiya just smiled at her kindly. She guessed that he knew how she's feeling.

Sakura tried not to look at the crowd. She could tell that everyone's whispering about her now. She didn't even have the chance to dress up properly for the occasion. Sasuke, on the other hand, gazed at her intently.

After a moment, a luncheon was held. Sakura just knew that her bags were packed and she's staying at the royal harem for the night.

"Welcome, Mistress Haruno. I am Yuuhi Kurenai, your lady-in-waiting." A beautiful woman replied.

Sakura was amazed on how she looks. _I guess she looks more of a consort than I am!_ "Nice to meet you, Kurenai-san!"

From that night on, Sakura lived a new life. Itachi, on the other hand, was promoted as the Emperor's personal guard.

Sakura went to rest. "From now on, this will be my room…" she said. "Wow!"

She saw a notebook at the study. It reads _Information on Uchiha Sasuke_. She then took a look on it.

_Uchiha Sasuke is the 2__nd__ son of the Emperor Fugaku," she read. "He was crowned emperor although he's not the eldest. His brother was banished some time ago, and that leaves him sole heir to the throne._

Sakura thought for a while. "So it just fell on him, huh? No wonder he is not that interested in politics…"

_He doesn't attend the morning sessions, and lets his ministers do all the work._

"What a slacker!" Sakura exclaimed. "Let me see… about his private life,"

_Up to now, he still has no concubine. He has no interest in women, thus, he hasn't been in a relationship ever._

"Does he prefer… MEN?!" Sakura was flabbergasted. "Oh my!"

She calmed herself. "He's gone through four months without problems by slacking, eh? And I guess he'll have problems later on…"

She closed the notebook . "Alright then! I'll be the one to change him! By this, I can be of help to my beloved country. I'll save everyone from doom."

More determined than ever, His Majesty's new concubine decided to rather _help_ him. Can she do so? Will she be successful?

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭


	4. Third Chapter: 薬缶根性

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**Spring's Cherry Blossom**

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**Third Chapter:** _Yakan Konjou_

(A tea-kettle disposition)

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

It was a very beautiful morning in the Royal Palace of Konoha. The weather is good and the sky is clear. Sakura had just finished her breakfast. Today is her first day as the Royal Consort. She walked around the Palace, in hopes of finding Itachi.

As she was on her way to the next pavilion, she encountered Kurenai on the way. Beside her was a young woman, dressed in lady-in-waiting clothes. Sakura supposed that she's one of the ladies-in-waiting assigned to her.

"Good morning, Kurenai-san! It's a lovely day today, isn't it?" Sakura greeted her. "Good morning to you too, err…"

The young woman bowed down in utmost respect. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Consort Haruno. My name's Hinata. I will be serving you in all I can."

"Nice to meet you too, Hinata," she smiled at her.

"Mistress, the Sages asked us to bring you to them. They have something important to tell you." Kurenai said. "This way, please."

_I wonder what it is all about…_ Sakura thought. _And where can Itachi be?_

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

Sasuke sauntered in the premises of his Palace's Garden. There had been many flowers that had bloomed this early spring. This garden reminds him of a lot of memories he had since childhood.

Itachi, on the other hand, was also sent to the Sages. He had been there for a while now, and he's anxious to see his Lady Sakura.

The door opened, and Sakura came in. Her ladies-in-waiting left. In front of her were Itachi and the three Sages, and they were all looking at her.

"Good morning to you all," she greeted them.

"We've been waiting for you, Consort Haruno." Tsunade said. "Please, take a seat."

"Thank you. Sorry to keep you waiting." Sakura replied. "By the way, what is the matter?"

Jiraiya began, "Didn't your guardian Kakashi tell you about the deal about your stay here?"

Sakura shook her head vehemently. _He didn't even bother tell me that this is going to happen!_ "No, he didn't."

"Well," Orochimaru started, looking at her seriously. "This job is in turn for 500 pieces of gold if you succeed."

Itachi and Sakura were shocked. Kakashi made a deal with that large amount of money? They never thought he'd have a great idea like that.

"This includes persuading His Highness to participate in Royal Court sessions and the rest of his supposed responsibilities as the head of this country."

_What can I do if he isn't really interested?_ Sakura thought.

"We expect a lot from a woman suggested by someone we believe knows something better than us," Tsunade looked at Jiraiya. "Anyway, this is actually up to you. If you surrender, we cannot promise you the whole 500 gold pieces, but just the half of it."

"I fully understand our deal," Sakura answered. "I'll do my best."

Jiraiya nodded. "Good. You two can go now."

Itachi was the first one to leave. He waited for Sakura outside.

"I cannot be with you at all times, Lady Sakura." He told her. "My new job keeps on the way and I need to guard His Majesty's chamber at all times."

Sakura smiled at him. "I'm a big girl now, Itachi! I can practically be on my own, don't worry about me."

"I should go now," Itachi said. "Till next time, My Lady."

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

Sakura walked around the premises for a while. She stopped by the garden when she got tired of walking. The scenery there is as good as the public parks in the town, or even better. When she looked around the place, she saw a young man sleeping under a tree. Judging the way he looks, she had a hunch it is the Emperor. His face is still unfamiliar to her, and she went talk to him.

"My, it's such a wonderful day today, right?" she looked down at him.

He moved a little, opening an eye to see who's around. "What do you need?"

"Is that all you can say? Won't bother to greet me?"

"No. I won't. I don't particularly speak to strangers." He stood up, dusted his clothes and left. "Whoever you are, don't bother disturb my sleep again or I'll get you arrested."

Sakura giggled. "Yeah, right."

Sasuke glared back at her. "Are you mocking me?"

"Oh, no. Why'd I do such a thing to a stranger?" Sakura said. "I don't even know you."

He nodded. "Alright then, go back to where you came from. Don't bug me again."

"I'm actually lost; can you help me get my way back to the Royal Harem?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke looked at her. _She must be my wife, _"You're asking too much from a stranger. Tell me, why should I help you?"

"Because you must be kind to strangers if they are in need." She answered.

He shrugged. "Fine,"

Sakura smiled to herself. "Which way do we go?"

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

Kankuro and Shikamaru are currently at the Library. They have been drinking tea, and talking as well. Their conversation was about Sasuke's concubine.

"That's all you can say?" Kankuro asked. "What an opinion from the genius of the Royal Court."

Shikamaru nodded. "Nah, I haven't even done my supposed responsibilities for months! I don't know what my job is either."

Kakashi entered the Library, carrying scrolls in his arms. "Good morning, gentlemen. You have come here early today, eh? Still without something to do, Shikamaru?"

"Good morning Kakashi-sama. Yes, you're right. Our genius bum still slacks. I wonder what your dearest adoptive father would say to you." Kankuro teased him. Kakashi grinned.

"Old man Asuma might scold me, but it's practically Sasuke-dono's fault."

"Is that what you think?"

"Of course! I know that he doesn't need me to govern this country, and he can do things by himself. Only if he doesn't slack like that,"

Kakashi pointed out to Shikamaru, "You mean like what you are doing?"

Shikamaru blushed. "Err…"

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

Thirty minutes passed by quickly, and Sakura hasn't returned to the Harem yet. It's past lunch time already. She's still with Sasuke, and she noticed that they've been around the palace for a while in circles, as if they're in a looped road.

"Are we there yet?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke suddenly froze. _There's no way I'd get lost in my own home! Where the heck is that darn Harem anyway?_ He slowly glanced at her, and he looked up the skies.

"The sun tells us it's time for lunch. Let's eat." He simply replied.

"Okay, I'm hungry too. Then you'll just have to show me the way there," Sakura smiled. "Right, Sir---"

Sasuke stopped walking. He faced her. "My name's uh… K-Kankuro. Right. I am General Kankuro of the Royal Army. And you are?"

"I'm Haruno Sakura, General Kankuro. Thanks for your time helping me." She said. "I thought you should be in duty now. Do you know Akatsuki Itachi? He's one of your subordinates."

He scratched his head, "Uh… I guess we haven't met."

"He's a good friend of mine. Maybe he isn't joining the troops since he's assigned personal guard to His Majesty."

"Aa." He replied. "Let's go now."

They walked together to the Lunchroom. A large buffet table was there, and the kitchen people were all surprised. The Emperor just went to the Lunchroom. He always ate his food at his place.

"Y-Your---" Sasuke gave the kitchen people a dangerous look.

"Listen, kitchen people, this is Sakura and I am General Kankuro."

"EH????"

Sakura looked at Sasuke. "They seemed surprised. Anything wrong?"

"Nothing." Sasuke muttered. "Please prepare a sumptuous lunch for the two of us and serve it quickly."

The cooks fumbled at his words. "Yes, your—I mean, General Kankuro!"

"Wow, a General can even order cooks around here," Sakura said. "I wonder what else you can do with your authority as the Defense Leader."

Sasuke sighed deeply. _That was close… why am I hiding my real identity anyway? We have to be introduced properly._

After eating, the two continued their search for the Harem's location. The sun already set, and still…

"Hey, Sir Kankuro…" Sakura called Sasuke, stopping her walk. "Do you really know where the Harem is?"

Sasuke bit his lip. "Actually…"

Sakura looked around. "Oh my! We're already here!" she exclaimed. "At last!"

"Thanks a lot!" she said and she bowed down. Sakura turned her back to walk towards her room when suddenly, Sasuke grabbed her hand.

"Yes?"

"Sakura…" he began, looking at her intently. "Can I…"

She was confused. "Yes?"

Sasuke was flushed. "Can I stay at your place tonight???" he asked, in a loud voice. "PLEASE?"

Sakura's jaw dropped to the ground. "WHAAAT???"

_What's wrong with this man? He does have a tea-kettle disposition... What would I do?_

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭


	5. Fourth Chapter: 光陰人を待たず

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**Spring's Cherry Blossom**

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**Fourth Chapter:** _Kouin hito o matazu_

(Time waits for no man)

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"What was that?!"

Sasuke sighed. "Alright, let me tell you honestly… I cannot find my way back to my place." He muttered sheepishly. "Can I stay here for the night? Tomorrow, I promise you that I'll leave early."

"You mean, you have a terrible sense of direction?" Sakura asked.

"I guess that's how you term it," he blushed.

Sakura stared at this "General Kankuro" person in front of her. He seems to be honest, and for that, she cannot decline him. Besides, there's nothing wrong since it is his place too. In fact, when they are ceremoniously married…

Sakura shook her head. _Oh geez, what am I thinking just now?_

"If you don't want to, I'll just leave and sleep outside…"

"Wait!" Sakura called out. "I didn't say no, did I?"

For the first time, he gave out a little smile. Later on, it turned into a smirk. He walked inside the Harem all by himself, without even waiting for Sakura's signal. He finds room's interior plausible, and when he saw the bed, he just jumped onto it.

"Wait there, General Kankuro! Where will I sleep then?" Sakura inquired, looking on how he positioned himself on the bed. He's unmindful that there are _two of them _inside the room.

He moved a little, making space good enough for one person. "Here, of course."

"What?!"

Sasuke smirked again. "Why, Sakura? Never slept with a man before?"

She was furious, and she's blushing. "I—"

Sasuke patted the bed with this hand, beckoning her to come and submit to his whim. Sakura's lips turned into a grim line. She can't say anything to him. Yes, she knew from her sources that this man absolutely hates women. Maybe he's thinking of her as a man right now…

"You're not really interested with women, right?" Sakura suddenly asked him.

Sasuke thought for a while. "I guess,"

Sakura sighed. "Fine. I'm staying in the same bed with you. Don't do anything perverted, okay?"

"I won't." he answered, nodding.

"Good."

Sakura turned off the lights, and then she snuggled herself on the bed. True enough, her new bed is large enough to have two people in it. She remembered that there's only one blanket there. She _has_ to share it with him. Sasuke comfortably lied down, and he suddenly faced Sakura's side.

"I told you we'd fit in here," he whispered.

"I see that your knowledge in bed sizes helped you." Sakura remarked.

He was surprised by her actions. As far as he can remember, women usually act weirder when he's around, even for a foot away.

"I don't have much knowledge in bed sizes," he alleged. "Actually, my friend, His Royal Highness told me that the beds in the Harem were really made for a man and a woman."

Sakura gulped. "And you're implying?"

He shook his head. "Of course I won't do anything with you. His Majesty might _fire_ me."

"Whatever."

After a while of silence, Sakura still can't sleep. That goes the same for Sasuke.

"Still awake?" Sakura asked him. He didn't answer. "I know you're not sleeping, General Kankuro."

He moved. "What now?"

"You said the Emperor is your friend, right?"

"Yeah?"

"How's he like then? I've never met him. Maybe you can tell me something about him."

Sasuke got up. "Well," he started. "He's actually…" _ME!_

"Yes?"

"I think he's going to like you." He said abruptly and then he sunk himself on the blankets. Sakura laughed.

"You're pretty peculiar, general. I think I like you already. We can be good friends…"

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

The next morning, Hinata was assigned by Kurenai to wake Sakura up. As she entered the room, she noticed two pairs of footwear there.

"Did someone come here for Mistress?" she thought.

She walked nearer the bed. "Good morning, Mistre---" she stopped when she saw that a man was cuddling her Mistress Sakura. It's not just a man, but it's Sasuke.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I must leave now!" she bowed down and hurried away.

Sakura and Sasuke were awakened by her words. The sun already shone way high in the skies. When Sakura finally got to her senses, she felt warmth enveloping her.

"What's that noise?" Sasuke asked innocently, trying to wake himself up. His grip on Sakura tightened, and before he knew it, she screamed.

A scream. Loud enough for the whole palace to hear. Itachi heard this, and immediately, he ran towards the Royal Harem. There he found his Lady and His Highness in one bed, the former blushing mad, and the latter numb in shock.

"Why you! You're taking advantage of a kind woman like me, you pervert!" Sakura accused him, pointing her index finger firmly on him.

"I didn't mean to!" he denied her accusations. "I promise!"

Sakura cried. "You meanie!" she got off the bed and stormed off the room. She didn't notice Itachi on the doorway, and Itachi came inside the room.

"What are you doing here, Your Highness?" he asked, shocked at the fact that the Emperor seems to make his _moves_ so quickly.

Sasuke sighed. "Now I made her really mad…" he said, as if he didn't hear Itachi on the background. "It's nothing; I just stayed over last night. I had my whole day with her yesterday. I thought we're going to be fine, but I practically ruined it."

He also got up, arranged the beddings and then his robes. "My, I'm hungry. By the way, you are?"

"Akatsuki Itachi, at your service." He answered.

"Itachi?" the name rang on Sasuke's mind. _Could this man be…?_ He smiled at him warmly. "You have a very nice name, Itachi. I just haven't heard of anyone with the same name as yours for a long time, and it feels nostalgic."

"Thank you, Your Highness. Shall I escort you to your room now?"

Sasuke smirked. "Sure! I'd be glad if you'd have breakfast with me." _Besides, I don't even know how to get there! It was awfully great that Sakura screamed. I should thank her!_

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"Kakashi-sama!!!!" Sakura cried, rushing to the Library. She ran to Kakashi's side, and he was surprised by her visit.

"Why dear Sakura-chan, what a surprise…" he said. "How are things going on so far?" 

Sakura wiped her tears. "That jerk Emperor! He was mocking me! He's definitely making fun of me!"

Kakashi was confused. "You already had a talk with him?"

She nodded. "I didn't know he'd go far in fooling me! I was trying my best to get along with his silly games! He pretended to be someone else in front of me! And then…"

"And?" Kakashi asked.

"And then, he took advantage of my kindness! He showed how rotten he truly is!"

Kakashi still couldn't get the details right. "What sort of advantage is it?"

"He…" she began, blushing. "He… he hugged me while I was asleep!"

Kakashi was sweat-dropped. _Well, you shouldn't worry about that simple thing… I'm sure he'll be doing more hideous things that you think when you're officially married._ "Oh, is that so?"

"Is that so? That's all my guardian can say? Why, can't you fight that darn man?" Sakura reacted. "Those in power really do things their way, isn't it? Well sorry, but I have to do something about it!"

She then walked away quickly out of the Library, and then collided with someone.

"Oops,"

"I'm sorry," she bowed down and left.

"Hi there," it was Kankuro. "So, that's the Consort, right? Looks like she's mad! Did you fight with her or something?"

Kakashi laughed. "I do not fight with her; I know I'd get beaten." He said. "You're wrong. She fought with someone powerful than the both of us."

"Huh?"

"She thought of his Highness as a dirty pervert." Kakashi laughed again. "Isn't it so funny? And you know what; he used your name to introduce himself to her!"

Kankuro frowned. "Haha, not funny at all. It's pure slander. That playful Highness…"

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"So you've been with that girl for a long time, eh?"

Itachi nodded. "Right. She's such a wonderful person. If not because of Kakashi-sama and her, I don't think I'd be living right now."

"You owe them big time eh?" Sasuke smiled. "You kinda remind me of someone in my past. I'm so glad they made you my guard."

"It's also a pleasure to serve you, Your Majesty."

"Where do you think Sakura is?" Sasuke asked. "I must say my apologies. She went away too early for that."

"You can always talk to her later."

"Time waits for no man, Itachi. I need to see her." He finished his tea and stood up. "I guess I'll have her a present. A peace offering."

Itachi smiled. "Good luck, then, Your Majesty. She's a tough woman. I think she might be at the garden right now. She loves cherry trees. I bet there are lots of trees in your garden."

"Right. I'll be going now."

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭


	6. Fifth Chapter: 合縁奇縁

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**Spring****'****s Cherry Blossom**

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

**Fifth**** Chapter:** _Aien Kien_

(Mysterious Fate)

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"I just can't believe it!!!!" Yamanaka Ino shouted, throwing away all the inks and brushes on her table of calligraphy. "Why did he...? I thought he hates women! I thought---"

"Miss Ino, we can never really tell his Majesty. He's usually stubborn in front of you. Maybe he found that woman attractive."

Ino glared at her lady servant. "Her? Attractive? And what am I then?"

"I'm so sorry, Miss Ino!"

Yamanaka Ino lives not far from the Royal Palace. Her father works at the Civil Service department of the Royal Court. She is the number one candidate for the first concubine, but then, even after several tries to please the Emperor, she was declined.

"Yo, Ino! So the news has come out of the palace, eh?" Akimichi Chouji said. "That's actually weird. For Sasuke-dono to sleep with a woman… well, we can't blame him. She's his concubine. It's only natural to---"

Chouji was hit by an ink bottle. "Ouch! What did you do that for?"

"For you to shut your big mouth!"

Chouji sighed. Not long after that, they heard the main doors of the Yamanaka compound open. Someone has come.

"Hey pals…" Shikamaru entered the scence. "What's this commotion all about?"

Chouji touched his new bump in the head. "His Highness and his concubine."

Ino glared at them. "Enough of that!"

"Y-Yes, Ino…" they mumbled.

"Shika!" she called him as she snapped her fingers. "I have a great idea. Is that woman there at the Harem right now?"

He nodded. "Yeah, why? She's not allowed to go out unless Sasuke-dono gives her permission."

"I'm going to see her."

"Don't do anything stupid!" Shikamaru reminded her. Then Lady Ino glared at him. He froze…

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

Sasuke's got his servants to get him the most expensive hairpins in the Central Town. By giving her this, he thinks that he'll be forgiven about this morning's incident.

Sakura's having tea by the garden when someone approached her.

"Good morning," she greeted. "I'm Yamanaka Ino. I'm the daughter of the Civil Service Department head."

Sakura smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Yamanaka-san. What can I do for you?"

Ino sat beside her. "Nothing much, I just want to meet _my rival_ in person." She said bluntly.

Sakura almost spat her tea out. "Pardon me? Rival?" she asked, unbelievably. "What do you mean by that?"

Ino gave her a sly smile. "I just happen to be a candidate for the Empress status." She declared proudly. "And I know that I would not just be a candidate in time."

"Oh I see." Sakura replied, bringing her teacup down to the table. "Good luck then, Yamanaka-san. I shall cheer you on."

Sasuke was listening at the two women's conversation. He was so surprised to hear that from Sakura. _W__h__at did __I__ do to make her despise me that much? __I__ never liked Yamanaka Ino! I find her better__…_

Ino was the same way, surprised. "You're giving up just like that?"

"You got it all wrong, Yamanaka-san. It's just that I wasn't interested to be an Empress at all. And I was here not on my own will. I never wished for anything else than my freedom, and I do not want to be the palace doll everyone hopes to be."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Really? I don't think I can count on that."

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "The decision's still up to the Emperor, right?"

"Of course. But I will make sure he picks me rather than---" she stopped when Sasuke entered the scene, holding something in his hand. Ino cannot speak. He might have heard everything she's said. She just bowed down.

"Sakura, I am really sorry about this morning." Sasuke began. "Please take this and accept my apology."

Ino was surprised that he called her by her first name.

Sakura looked up on him. "My my, it's General Kankuro. What confidence you have to face me again like this!?" she replied.

Ino was shocked. _She called him General Kankuro? Does this woman know what she__'__s saying? Or maybe__…__ she still hasn__'__t known this is the Emperor! What a fool!_ She stifled a laugh.

"Yes, and I won't leave you until you say you forgive me." Sasuke said. "Here, take this hairpin as my peace offering."

Sakura smirked. "Is that so? Well, try me, General Kankuro. I don't accept bribes, you see…"

Sasuke nodded. "I understand. I won't give up."

Sakura brought her stuff from the table and started leaving, while Sasuke followed her. "I shall leave now, Yamanaka-san. Today's the day I shall be seeing His Majesty. I better prepare myself."

"Let me help you with that." Sasuke pointed to Sakura's basket.

She gave Ino a quick glance. "That's sweet of you, Kankuro…"

Ino was sweat-dropped. "Yeah right." _What__'__s His Majesty doing? __I__s he making fun of his own concubine?_ She laughed. "I wonder how this Haruno Sakura will feel if she knows all this."

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"Yes sir."

Jiraiya thought for a while. "Is he trying to avoid us again?" he asked. "What a stupid boy! He doesn't know what he's missing!"

"Don't get overreacting, Jiraiya. I heard some news awhile ago from the servants." Tsunade told him, sighing. "I can't believe he did it."

"Did what?"

"He was at the Harem last night. I heard that they've slept together." She answered.

"That's good!" Jiraiya's eyes sparkled. "I knew that she's so irresistible that he won't decline her!"

Tsunade hit him at the head. "They aren't even ceremoniously married! This is so not good!"

"Relax. I know what he's doing." Jiraiya assured her. "Let's just wait and see his next move…"

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭

"Hey," Sakura said, "why are you still here?"

Sasuke kept silent for a while. "Nothing,"

"Just admit it, you don't know your way back, right?" she laughed.

"Stop annoying me!" Sasuke sneered.

Sakura grinned. "Now who's guilty?"

"Stop it or I'll…" he threatened her. He gulped. He'd never spoken much, especially how he feels. Whether he's annoyed at times, he tries his best to compose himself. But when he met this woman, he started opening up to the world. What does she have that makes him stupefied all of a sudden?

"I came here for a reason."

Sakura avoided him. "Well, I have something else to take care of today. Can't help you find your way wherever you're going." She said.

"It's time you finally know who I am." He said seriously.

"So who are you then? Aren't you General Kankuro as you've said?" she tried to play a game with him. "Is it?"

He sighed. "Sakura, listen. I'm so sorry. Really." He tried to hold her hand. She pulled away.

"My real name's Uchiha Sasuke." He said, turning into a sudden vicious-looking fellow. "I am the Emperor of this country. And I order you to accept my apology right now."

Sakura's eyes bulged out. _What a desperate man to use his status in order to have forgiveness__…_ "Yes, I know who you are. From the moment I first saw you, you wouldn't be a General at all."

Sasuke's dumbfounded. "You mean you just played around with me like that? Haven't you just realized what you did? The way you talked to me like that… you already know my identity yet…"

She sneered. "Hmp! If not of your silly I-am-so-lost tactics, I wouldn't play with you!"

_I was actually lost!_ "For that, you'll be under my probation. You can't go out the Palace without me."

"What?!"

He smirked. "I'm taking away your freedom for good."

"Why you—"

"Just as you've said, you know I am the Emperor."

She clutched her fists. How could he do that to her? _He__'__s not just a pervert, he__'__s also a cruel guy!_

She simply smiled her way out of it. "I understand, Your Highness."

Sasuke's got a feeling that she doesn't give up that easy. "My dear Consort, I'll see you on bed tonight…" he muttered and left.

Hinata and Kurenai dropped the things they were both holding as soon as they've heard what he said. They were blushing profusely, and Sakura was raging mad. The ladies-in-waiting bowed down before him, and Mistress Haruno didn't even bid goodbye.

"What's he's trying to pull now?" Sakura looked at the hairpin he's given to her. "A peace offering, eh?"

Kurenai went to her. "Um, Mistress, breakfast's ready." She saw the pin she was holding. "Oh my! Such an expensive hairpin with such beautiful gems! Shall I put it on to you?"

Sakura doesn't want to spoil Kurenai's excitement over it. "Yes, please."

"I've prepared tea, Mistress Sakura. Do you need something else?" Hinata asked.

"I'm fine, thank you."

Sakura sighed. "Well I should see you then, Uchiha Sasuke."

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	7. Sixth Chapter: 友情は一体同心

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**Spring's Cherry Blossom**

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**Sixth**** Chapter:** _Yuujou __wa__ ittai doushin_

(Friendship is a marriage of souls)

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After having her breakfast, Sakura went to see Kakashi. She plans to borrow some books from the archives too, and to check how her guardian's daily life as an archivist goes.

"Kakashi-sama??" she called out, and the archives section doesn't seem to have anyone in there. "Hello?"

She heard some footsteps behind her. "Good morning!" an unfamiliar voice greeted.

A smiling man came inside. "Are you looking for Kakashi-sama too?"

"Yes," she said. "Good morning too! I'm Haruno Sakura. Pleased to meet you."

"My name's Kankuro." He said. "You're so cute; no wonder you turned Sasuke-dono around…"

_So he IS the REAL General Kankuro… _She blushed at his flattering comment. "Well, thanks, but I do not wish to be related to His Majesty."

Kankuro's surprised by her answer. "Why's that?"

"Can we talk it over with tea? I brought something from the kitchen for us to eat. I thought I'd find Kakashi-sama, but since you're the one who's here, I'll share it with you."

Kankuro grinned. "My, this must be my lucky day." He said "Follow me to the lounge. I have someone else to introduce too. He's also a member of the Royal court."

_I bet that person is another weirdo…_Sakura thought. "Okay!"

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Sasuke's finally back at his chamber, with the help of one Palace guard. "I wonder what she's thinking about me now…"

When he looked outside his room, he heard footsteps approaching. _Could this be Jiraiya-sama?_ He peeked, and he heard a familiar woman's voice. After that, a man's voice. They seem to have a happy time conversing with each other.

He checked to see who they are. He was so surprised to see that it was _his_ concubine, Sakura. And the _real_ General Kankuro.

He stepped outside and he seemed to have blocked their way. "Good morning, General Kankuro. Is it fun to be with my dear Sakura?"

Kankuro chuckled. "Yes, indeed. She's such a witty woman. I sure hope she stays here for a long time."

"I know," Sasuke said. "And I might want what you said too. I think she should be here forever _with me_."

"No way, Your Highness," Sakura replied. "You cannot tolerate me."

"Yes I can," he dared speak. "In fact, I'm beginning to be immune with you right now."

Sakura frowned. "Oh really?"

"Why don't we all go to the lounge than talk here at the corridor?" Kankuro suggested. "Right?"

Sasuke nodded. "Let's go."

He led the way to the lounge, (he finally knows one place!) and on their way, Shikamaru appeared.

"Howdy, Sasuke-dono!" he greeted, but then Kankuro shot him a death glare. "Oops, sorry. Good morning, Your Highness."

"Shikamaru? What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, particularly surprised.

"Haven't you known? I was forced by Old Man Asuma to work for you!" he said.

Sakura was surprised to see yet another one of the Royal Court's weirdoes.

"He is Nara Shikamaru. He works at the Finance Department and as Senior Adviser for His Majesty. Before that, they were friends when they are young." Kankuro told Sakura.

"How do you do?" Shikamaru greeted.

"You mean he's the genius who passed the Civil Service Exams at the age of 16?" Sakura exclaimed. "Oh wow! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Shikamaru scratched his head. "I did it to actually please the Old Man," he muttered. "For he keeps on nagging me all the time."

Sakura giggled. "You're so cool, I think I like you!"

He blushed. With that, Sasuke suddenly felt jealous. He suddenly pulled Sakura closer to him. "She is _mine_, Shika." He just muttered to them.

"Hey!" Sakura exclaimed, pulling her own hand. "Watch it!"

The two other men laughed at what they've seen. "You know what, Sasuke-dono; I think your happy days are _so_ over."

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The four of them were at the lounge drinking tea. Sakura can't help but remain silent, as the men exchanged their views on politics. At their time, women are most likely uninvolved in politics as much as men are. What bothered him was Sasuke's unwillingness to exchange his opinions to them; especially that he is the crowned Emperor of their land.

"What do you think, Your Highness?" Kankuro asked. "Should we lower the cost for commodities if that's the case?"

Sasuke's bored eyes remained, and he simply sipped his tea. "I don't think so.", was his 4-liner reply.

"Why did you say so?" Sakura butt-in unexpectedly. "That was quite an answer from you, General Kanku--- I mean, Your Highness. Is that by chance a _serious_ answer?"

Kankuro and Shikamaru laughed. "My, my… dear Emperor. Seems like your consort here was not impressed." Kankuro said, trying to control his laughter.

"Yeah, right." Sasuke muttered. "And Sakura, please just address me as Sasuke."

Sakura fumbled. "No way! It's so improper!" she said. "I won't."

Shikamaru grinned. "But the way you're treating each other is very, let me say… _casual_." He glanced at Kankuro and he subsequently nodded. Afterwards, they both ended up laughing.

"I still can't believe you used my name, Emperor Sasuke. It's such an honor, but… I heard from the ladies here that you slandered my name."

Sasuke just blushed. "I-I didn't…" he replied, shyly looking away from them. "And it's not what everyone thinks!"

Sakura nodded fervently. "Obviously, you got it all _wrong_. Besides, His Majesty hates women, right?"

Sasuke cast a sudden death glare on her, but instead, Sakura found it cute. "You don't have to imply it, Your Majesty." Sakura ended.

"I do not hate women." He muttered. "And I do not hate you."

Sakura almost spat her tea out. "Yeah, right!"

The rest of the gentlemen chuckled softly. "Is it romance in the air, Shika?" Kankuro asked teasingly. He grinned at the Royal Couple.

"I bet it is, General." Shikamaru agreed. "Wait till Lady Yamanaka hears this!"

Sasuke sighed, "It's not a big deal. What's wrong about saying I like her?" he defended himself. Sakura, on the other hand, remained silent. For colors already rushed to her cheeks.

"…hmn, it's just a declaration that all your begotten rumors and your reputation that you've kept for so long was removed." Shikamaru replied. "Thus, Emperor Sasuke is now ready to have many, many heirs…"

Kankuro laughed. "You bet!"

Sasuke frowned. "You're making fun of me." He said. "I hate that."

"No we're not!"

Sakura suddenly stood up. "I should go now, since I have no business around here and I'm done eating. Thanks for the great talk, gentlemen. I shall look forward on _not meeting you at the vicinity_ again."

With one quick move, she turned her heels and went off.

"She sure is peculiar,"

"Yes, someone like no one else in the Palace had seen."

"I should go as well." Sasuke said. But then, he doesn't know how to come back to his place.

"… uh, Shikamaru, where are you heading?"

"Just around here for a while, why?"

"I… I need someone to accompany me back to my place."

Kankuro and Shikamaru exchanged funny faces and laughs. "What? Still with the same sickness?"

Sasuke blushed. "What sickness are you talking about?"

Shikamaru patted his back. "You know, no sense of direction…"

Sasuke scratched the back of his head, "No way! I'm just going by myself then!"

He marched forward, still not knowing where he's heading…

Sakura took a short glance on the three men. She stood quietly behind the pillars.

_Now __I__ have new friends here at the palace. __I__ guess my months of staying here would be worthwhile after all__…_

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End file.
